What Clients Say  

Note:  Names are not used to protect the privacy of clients.

Elizabeth, age 35, mother of an active 2 year old, came in with anxiety, and up to 5 panic attacks a day. She said they "are taking over my life". She had problems with anxiety since the age of 17. She was also suffering from mild depression and was on an antidepressant. She wanted to have another child and she wanted an alternative to medications to help resolve the anxiety before she got pregnant.

As she began treatment, she said that she had to talk herself in coming because she was so anxious. After 12 sessions, she no longer had the anxiety or panic attacks and had reduced her medication in half.
- Elizabeth, 35 year old, North Palm Beach, FL

John, age 9, was painfully shy and very quick to get upset and cry. He also had difficulty with attention and struggled with reading.

At the end of treatment his mother wrote: "Jaret just got his report card yesterday and he got 4 A's and 2-B's! His teacher showed me a test Jaret had to take for Florida Writes and he wrote almost 3 pages! She also said that he is raising his hand to answer questions and to read out loud." She was very excited and pleased with the
outcome of treatment.
- John, age 9, Palm City, FL

"Before I started neurofeedback,  I had a bunch of problems.   My mom got me to come do this.  I made lots of lists and had to check everything off multiple times per day (it was very obsessive).  I was doing drugs and couldn’t stop.  My sleep was awful.   Since training with neurofeedback, no more lists, my sleep is great every night and I’m not using any drugs – I don’t even feel any need for them.  We also started working on training me to help pass a test that I failed twice – and I passed it with no problem the 3rd time."
- 23 year old, EW, Ft. Pierce, FL

"At the Center for Brain Training we’ve been working with an 18 year old girl from Jupiter who’s been on various stimulant medications since she was 7.  Though it helped some, she struggled with attention.  She would often get overwhelmed in taking tests, and do very poorly, even when she felt she knew the information.   She often stayed up till 2 or 3 AM every night.   After about 20 sessions, she had a major test she had to take for a new job.  Instead of getting panicky, she was able to take the test without feeling any significant stress – and she aced it (and was one of the few to get selected for the job).  She said that she never has been able to take a test like that before – but now she has learned how to be calm.   She is now coming off of her meds and seldom needs to take it.  She said she no longer wants to have to rely on medications to help her pay attention.  She’s learned how to do it herself."
- Michael Cohen, Director of Training, Center for Brain Training, Jupiter, FL

"My 5 and a half year old was struggling with speech – she could talk words, but she really didn’t make sentences that were appropriate to the situation.  She’d blurt out things that were completely disconnected to the situation.  She’d usually play separately from other children, and wasn’t interacting with them very much.  We had done a lot of other therapies, but there didn’t seem to be much progress on these issues.  I heard about neurofeedback, and talked to the Center for Brain Training. Since we’ve started, my daughter has shown significant improvements in a very short time.  She’s now playing well with other children rather than being off on her own.  She is now starting to make intelligent sentences.  When she talks, she’s more appropriate to what’s going on at the moment."
- JS, Wellington, FL

"Our son was diagnosed with ADD eleven years ago, and since then has been on either Ritalin or Adderal. Although he has willingly taken his medication when it is put out for him, he doesn’t think to take it on his own. I was getting desperate. He is heading off to college next year.  I had visions of him becoming angry, frustrated, and discouraged, as well as missing classes, and assignment deadlines.

E was given the brain map in February and subsequently began his sessions at the end of March. During his first attention test, he was well below normal (two standard deviations below). After just 17 sessions, when given another attention test, he tested in the normal range. My husband and I see it first-hand in day to day situations! E’s “stick-to-itness” has improved tremendously. He’s actually able to finish tasks he begins without getting side-tracked ten times! He functions on a much more even keel, and his outlook is much more positive. Incidents which would have angered or frustrated him before neurofeedback, now seem to have very little negative effect. His whole personality has “lightened up,” and he is actually able to laugh at himself!

In looking at his report card for the last marking period I was truly amazed; all his grades were good, but in two courses he liked the least, he went from a 70 to an 80, and a 75 to a 95! I very rarely feel the need to give him his medication any more, so I feel much more secure about sending him to college this September. " 
- M.P., Attleboro, MA   (courtesy of Dr. Lawrence Hirshberg, www.neurodevelopmentcenter.com)

" I’ve struggled for years with severe anxiety, and with constant obsessing over problems which often gets out of control.  I’ve tried a lot of psychiatrists and ever medication they can think of.  None ever really worked.  Neurofeedback has made a huge difference.  The obsession and anxiety are under control.  I’ve been able to cut back my medications.  It’s taken a while, and I’m not done.  But I’m better able to live my life now."
- 35 year old, TK, Jupiter

Six Year Old with Autism
"Before S began (EEG) biofeedback I would describe him as a little boy encased within an opaque bubble. He would ride in a car for 21 hours and never ask if we were there yet, or ask to get out of the car for any other reason unless he was hungry or had to use the restroom. We would point things out for him to see and his only response was, “Yeah.” When we went somewhere and we had to wait, he would just sit in a chair and never get up or fuss. He would just sit. Others would hurt him, but he would never tell on them or defend himself against them. He was afraid to leave his room unless someone was in the kitchen, which is near his room. He could never hold a conversation, or even attempt to begin one with anyone. He never had an opinion on anything."

"Now (after 30 sessions of neurofeedback), it is an entirely different story. He will leave his room and sit in the living room alone. As soon as we get in the car, he wants to know if we are there yet. He has made up a game that he initiates whenever we go on a trip. We see who can find the most motorcycles, police cars, and sometimes fire trucks. He is a very competitive player."

"He now fights me at bedtime. He tells me, “I say it’s up time.” I have to force him to go to bed now. It’s wonderful. I never thought I would want one of my children to defy me, but this is great.

"We can send him on errands at home and he completes them without getting lost and forgetting what he was sent to get. He helps us carry groceries in the house, and asks if he can help. Once the groceries are in the house, he puts away anything that belongs in the fridge."
- S. V., Central Falls, RI

Eight Year Old with Asperger's Disorder
"My daughter has experienced a high degree of anxiety that did not allow her to interact with other children very well. She could not let anybody else control the situation or let somebody else be the leader in a game. She was very rigid in all social situations. After 20 neurofeedback sessions, she is learning to let go of the control of a situation. She can now face situations that used to cause great anxiety with a certain amount of composure. The rigid lines of her body are softening as her ability to interact improves."

One week later she wrote again about the comments of several adults who had not seen her daughter since beginning neurofeedback:

"I just wanted to pass along a few comments that were made to me on Wednesday night at the Open House at N's school. Her gym teacher, Mrs. M, told me that she had worked with N that afternoon because N had been having difficulty in playing a game in gym. She told me "Last year, N would not have been able to take the coaching. Once she found she was unable to play the game, she would have completely disintegrated. Today she was able to take the coaching and then she was doing what I told her and was able to play the game as well as anybody else. I think that this is the year it is going to come together for her." Mrs. M has been N's gym teacher since kindergarten, so she is very familiar with all of N's troubles and she was completely blown away by what she had seen."
- N.K., Rehoboth, MA.

"Forgive the 101 class but I am writing as a sufferer and a scientist.

I was stuck at high beta (type of brain wave) for a LONG time combined with
exhaustion it was going to kill me. And I mean stuck. I am no longer stuck, thank
God. It took a year or so of fully participating in a variety of treatments.

An important note is that I am certain the progress would not have happened with any of the list removed. We all (especially those suffering with a condition) continually look for the silver bullet. Especially if the person is an over achiever they want the pill, the treatment, the herb, whatever.

I know that this is not new to most people but as someone who struggled through it and had a regular seat at the edge of despair, the combination I listed is what proved to be the tonic."
- Greg, November 2007

Click here for additional cases that are discussed in some detail.  The Center for Brain Training is part of a large professional group that has a joint web site at www.eegspectrum.com/Applications/ADHD-ADD